17th May: Today in Christian History

 

May 17, 1527

Roman Catholics in Rottenburg, Germany, try the Sattlers, an Anabaptist couple. Michael Sattler will be burned at the stake on the 20th of the month.

May 17, 1575

Death of Archbishop Matthew Parker at Lambeth, London. He had been largely responsible for the religious “settlement” that made the Church of England distinct from Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism, and non-Lutheran forms of Protestantism.

17th May, 1834

On this day in Christian History,  a Chinese Christian, Peter Liu Wenyuan, was executed. He had spent over thirty years in exile as a slave for his faith before his execution.

17th May, 1972

On this day in Christian History, the Hutu Father Michael Kayoya of Berundi, a small nation in eastern Africa, was executed. He was one of thousands executed in genoicidal murder. About one half of all Catholic catechists in Berundi were later killed.

17th May, 1992

Pope John Paul II beatifies Josephine Margaret Fortunata (ca. 1869–1947), who as a Sudanese slave had been nicknamed Bakhita, “the lucky one.” Sold again and again, she had experienced great cruelty until an Italian consul ransomed her. In Italy she had converted to Christianity and had joined the Canossian Sisters with whom she remained the rest of her life, gaining renown for her humility and holiness.

17th May, 2007

On this day in Christian History, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) signs an Act of Canonical Communion with the Moscow Patriarchate but retains its independent hierarchy, the only change being that when it elects a new First Hierarch, his election must be confirmed by the Patriarch of Moscow. In turn, ROCOR agrees to recognize the Patriarch of Moscow as the head of the entire Russian Orthodox Church.